Ancient Egypt for KidsScribes

Scribes were the people in ancient Egypt who wrote things
down. In ancient Egypt, everything was written down. From the writings we have found, we have learned a great deal about these ancient people, including their love of written lists!

Besides the need for lists in government and in the daily
life of Egyptians citizens, scribes also wrote coffin texts.
Over a thousand different coffin texts have been discovered by
archaeologists. Coffin texts are spells written on coffins.
Scribes also wrote the Book of the Dead, which are the many
spells purchased by ancient Egyptians in the marketplace.

There were powerful scribe families in ancient Egypt
where the ability to write had been passed down from father to
son, generation after generation. But newcomers did break into
this elite group if they could pass the test. Scribe school was
open to anyone who could afford the fee. Typically, very few
students passed the exam unless they had prior training, but all
those who passed, whatever their prior background, were in high
demand. There was tremendous prestige attached to being a
scribe. Scribes were busy, but they also lived very good lives,
with many luxuries.